Gated Community Part 2

After having survived the heat, wind, rain, a couple earthquakes, the little red Random Act of Christmas bulb hung on the 5th day of Christmas, at Omnitrans Route 2 bus stop, finally disappeared some time yesterday.

Hopefully, whoever took it sees it as good luck, keeps and hangs on their tree next year.

On tap for today is serving as uber driver to granddaughter’s running of errands but, before I take off, thought I’d fill you folks in on yesterday’s “Resident’s Meeting”, which Nurse Ratched opened by calling it “The First Manager/Residents Meeting” and, more accurately, should have been titled “The Nurse Ratched Show”.

Corporate copped out and made no appearance. So it was she, her Assistant Manager, the Maintenance Supervisor and his newly just yesterday hired Assistant Maintenance Man in attendance, but none of the others spoke. It was all her all the time, and she had a list from which she did not care to deviate.

First on her list was to let us know that, because “It’s the law … I’m only doing what my bosses tell me to do … It’s in the lease … Repairs are most certainly negligence on the part of residents” maintenance costs would now be billed to residents. For instance:

1.       If the garbage disposal goes out, it’s because residents use the disposal as a trash can when it’s meant for small leftovers.

2.      Blinds broken and in need of replacement, outside the three year normal wear and tear, is because residents don’t open or close properly.

3.      Toilets clog because residents try to flush too much matter.

4.      Cleaning/repair of carpet, under 5 year life expectancy, is to be billed to residents AND if a resident moves prior to the 5 years, cleaning carpet for new resident is prorated on that 5 year life expectancy minus normal wear and tear.

News to me. I’d assumed new carpet always went in when a resident moved out.

There was much more residents were faulted with and, of course, Nurse Ratched was incorrect a lot of the time in using “It’s in the lease” excuse. However, when corrected by residents who actually were well versed in contents of the lease agreement, she’d respond with “Well …” then kept going like her error was never pointed out. Also, audience questions about topics of interest to residents were rebuffed with, “It’s on the list. I’ll get to it.”

Although one could see exasperation rising up here and there at how answers to resident questions were handled illogically, incorrect, with double talk, none of the residents became loud or obnoxious. Except my depressed neighbor was very vocal throughout and at one point, after having made a suggestion as to how maintenance requests should be handled, pointed a finger squarely at Nurse Ratched and threatened, “If Maintenance shows up one more time to my door without notice, you can believe you’ll hear from me!”

Depressed Neighbor sat up front and made it difficult for myself and others to ask questions because she wouldn’t shut up with the questions, complaints, suggestions.

I guess it all goes back to her background as a large-and-in charge State Commissioner.

Listening to my neighbor over and over and over gave me quite the headache, but I did manage to squeeze in and ask about the gate.

That prison look is because someone took the time, using wire cutters, to cut a hole in the original gate so they could just reach in and open from the outside. Consequently, slabs of metal sheeting were welded in.

Nurse Ratched managed to make this also the fault of residents, saying it had to be someone living here with a resident who wanted easy access and, "This isn't an assisted living facility" so when we observe people jumping the brick walls and fences, we should call the police.

Really?

What's assisted living have to do with it, and like the police have time to respond to people jumping the fence because they live here with others. Also, should the police actually do respond, if the fence/wall jumper is living with a resident, isn’t it management’s responsibility to issue a lease violation since management brought that resident into the building AND the resident is required to verify and abide by how many and who inhabit the premise.

I know residents who have complained directly to Nurse Ratched about residents allowing whole families to live with them, babies crying, all manner of noises as a result of the unauthorized persons. Nurse Ratched’s response to the complainers has been, “You can’t prove it”.

I blogged a while back about one of the ladies in the pool group getting a kick out of lying to and outwitting Nurse Ratched while sneaking her son and granddaughter in every night, hiding his car, getting him out early every morning and passing the granddaughter’s presence as simply babysitting during the day.

Three years later, that resident is still at it.

I also squeezed in between my neighbor’s yada yada yada and inquired if we could get the monthly calendar in a timely manner.

First of the month IS considered timely per Nurse Ratched AND she advised that if the first of the month falls on a weekend, the calendar will not be distributed until Monday.

So that’s a NO.

Older Sister brought up use of the pool and jacuzzi, because she’d heard both were not usable due to a chlorine problem.

Not true, said Nurse Ratched. The County regularly inspects levels. In fact – and this was something I already knew but didn’t mention in the blog when I was made aware at the time, the County Inspector who’d inspected and signed off on our pool and jacuzzi was the male shooter in the Inland Regional Center Terror attack.

How’s that for coincidence.

Bingo is supposedly coming back. This time it’s real bingo … for money, using the big bingo board that’s been going unused in the Community Room since this management group took over.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

Zumba in the afternoon is supposedly being considered as an activity for us seniors, which announcement prompted quite a few of the very elderly, and some not that elderly who should know to ask, “What’s zumba?”

Again, I’ll believe it when I see it.

After Nurse Ratched indicated which requests were now to be handled through calling her directly, rather than by previously used Requests for Service or approaching the maintenance men, someone shouted out, “But you’re never here and, when you are here, you have a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door”.

Nurse Ratched's reply was to say something about how hard she works, how busy she is.

The room erupted with eye rolling, knowing looks, I heard someone actually laughed out loud then realized it was me.

Though I was glad the meeting was calm and civil, to the point of boring, it was just another Nurse Ratched show -- misinformation, passing-the-buck, illogical responses and a waste of my time.

At any rate, I came, I saw, I ended up with a headache, no need for me to attend the next.